Why recycle? Because it's worth it!

Fenland householders are being encouraged to make a difference next week as a national campaign lifts the lid on blue bin recycling.

Fenland District Council is joining other authorities within the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Waste Partnership (RECAP) in supporting Recycle Week 2017 from Monday, September 25, to Sunday, October 1, to encourage people to recycle more.

The week also coincides with work Fenland District Council is carrying out in Chatteris on Thursday, September 28, as part of an ongoing recycling project.

Waste and recycling staff will be delivering information to around 350 properties in the town as part of recycling improvement work which will see 28,000 visits made across the district by the end of the year. It aims to make residents more aware of what can and can't go in blue bins and reduce the amount of recyclables which goes into green, general waste bins.

This year's Recycle Week theme, 'Recycling - It's Worth It', is hoping to encourage people to recycle more items from all around the home.

Recent research by Recycle Now, the national recycling campaign for England, revealed almost 90% of people in the UK regularly recycle from the kitchen, but only 52% regularly recycle items from the bathroom such as deodorant cans and shampoo bottles.

Yet Peter Maddox, director of WRAP, which organises Recycle Week as part of the Recycle Now campaign, said many people would be surprised at the benefits recycling can offer.

"Recycling just three empty deodorant cans can save enough energy to power a shower for eight minutes," he said.

Councillor Peter Murphy, Fenland District Council's Portfolio Holder for the Environment, said: "This year's Recycle Week is an opportunity to show that recycling really is worth it! We have a great track record for recycling in Fenland, but there's always room for us all to do even more. We really want to encourage everyone to think about those empty deodorant cans, shampoo and perfume bottles when recycling."

The Council's ongoing door-to-door recycling project launched in May 2016 and is proving successful in improving the quality of recycling put into blue bins.

Each week advisors visit targeted areas to deliver recycling information; placing stickers on bins where there is a recycling issue and speaking with homeowners where possible. The work is carried out before bin collections to give householders the opportunity to rectify any problems and still get their bin emptied.

Where a recycling bin is used well and contains a full range of recyclable materials, a thank you hanger is put on the bin.

Advisors then revisit the same area on the next recycling collection and check the bins to see if any improvements have been made.